Charter Oak's 1687 Brown Ale (this was the year the legend of the Charter Oak took place, and Wadsworth hid the document in the majestic Oak Tree - later to become know as The Charter Oak) is an American style which is slightly more robust than the traditional English Brown Ale. This beer will be brewed to a dark copper shade and be somewhat sweet and malty with distinctive toasted flavors from both our premium specialty roasted and chocolate malted barley, also allowing for a faint undertone of caramel. This style is lightly hopped for balance and this ale will prove to be a wonderful selection for a sessionable beer. Our medium-bodied, limited bitterness and hop aroma will make this an excellent choice.

Brown ales are an under appreciated style in my opinion. Charter Oak's take on the style is for the most part on point. Nice toastiness in the flavor with some hop bitterness in the finish, but not enough to overpower the malt character. Mouthfeel is smooth, almost oat like. The malts cling to/coat the tongue after swallowing, in a pleasant way. Recommended, especially on draft. This might make an interesting choice for a nitro tap line. (441 characters)

Pours an amber hue with a little khaki head that fizzes away without trailing the glass. Smells of nuts and earthy tones at first before some toast and vanilla come through on the end. The taste was very refreshing with a good beginning of sweeter notes and toasted malt, while the back end had a bit of hops for a crisp finish. (328 characters)

A: The beer is a deep brown color, with a large beige head that fades very slowly and leaves a very thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains maple, nuts, caramelized malts and a touch of hops.

T: The taste starts out with some breadiness from a hearty but not too heavy malt character. Then some mildly sweet flavors of maple, caramel and nuts come in. The hops presence is mild and brings a little bit of balance. The after-taste is slightly bready and slightly sweet.

Mouthfeel: Sweet with a bitterness in the middle and a slightly less bitter end, light body, moderate-high carbonation

Overall: Was a lot more bitter for the style than I am used to. I found the bitterness to clash and not compliment the sweeter malts. I have a lot of beers I like in this style, so I will be passing on this in the future. (515 characters)

Old-school American Brown Ale all the way—hops don’t have to be the only factor to rise up and balance a beer out. The toasted / roasted character does a lot of the balancing here. Very well-put-together beer and different enough to set it apart from the norm. We definitely want to see more from Charter Oak. (736 characters)

Quick pour into a tulip had a decent brownish white head that fell to a thin cap in no time at all. Nice deep dark mahogany color. Decent biscuit y and toasty smell and taste, but something seems to be a little off in this one. Letting it warm up a little bit made it come out a little more and the best descriptor I can think of is bittersweet chocolate on the back of your tongue.

Just average, but I'm happy to see another CT brewery, so I will definitely give their offerings a chance when I see them. (506 characters)

Purchased 6 pack and poured bottle into Lagunitas large mouth glass. Typical brown coloring with 2 finger head. Decent aroma of caramel and bready malt with a faint hint of chocolate. Taste was your standard brown ale-- and this one is solid but unspectacular. Light body with a nice balance. A good first offering. (315 characters)

This brown ale lives up to that with a nice brown color with golden caramel edges and a full two-finger fluffy light tan head. Lacing is equally enthusiastic. The aroma is light Seven-Up malt if there can be such a thing. I get some brown bread and slight chocolate ideas. The taste offers more of a charcoal theme with a decided hop bite but not any real hop flavor that I can detect. It's a little watery but the charcoal-brown bread blend works out okay overall and it makes for an easy drinking brown with fair character. This is pretty much light bodied, a bit of an aqueous feel with refreshing but fine carbonation. Not bad when all is said and done. (657 characters)

Served at cellar temp. A thick and rocky head surges and dwindles down but maintains a solid tan cap under a reddish brown clear body. Fine aroma of chocolate and toasted nut rings in the nose. Subtle hops and an unselfish carbonation lend really nicely to the flavors at play here. Caramel, cocoa, and earthy hop in the taste. A pleasant bit of tobacco and overall nutty and earthy baker's chocolate accent in a dry finish. Sessionable and flavorful. I want a T-shirt and more beer Charter Oak... (550 characters)

The first aromas to hit my nose are a nutty smokiness. It pours a lovely deep mahogany color--very dark and rich looking. The smoky nutty flavor comes though really nicely. Mild bitterness. Good mouth feel, not too thin. For me this a very nice brown ale, which is a style I've been trying more of lately. I'll definitely pick it up again as it is a tasty local beer. (367 characters)

An aggressive pour yields a two finger head. The lacing sticks around a wee bit throughout.

The aroma is nutty, slight caramel and some bakers chocolate. Very inviting. Maybe even some floral hops?

Mouthfeel is nice. Medium. Not too light.

This beer has a nice bitterness...one that my palate truly enjoys. Is is not a boring beer. The toasty character resonnates. It is nice and balanced. Everything plays nicely together without anything going out of bounds.

A surprising beer from a new brewery in CT. Great first offering! I cannot wait to try more! (621 characters)